Some people say their food never tastes as good as mine, even when they follow my recipe to the letter. I say, “You’re not cooking it with love…”

Saturday, September 15, 2007

In Praise Of The Double Baked Potato

Ahh, the potato. it's a staple for many reasons. Not only is it inexpensive and a little can go a long way but it's very versatile. There are dozens of things that you can do to make a potato interesting. My childhood saw a lot of boiled and uninteresting potatoes dropped on my plate. I didn't like that much. When I fell in love with cooking, I fell in love with all the things you could do to the potato to make it less boring.

I once lived on a bag of potatoes for a week and didn't really get bored. We made scalloped potatoes, baked potatoes, french fries, potato chips, home fries, potato pancakes, hash browns, home fries, mashed potatoes and more. Ok, I got a bit sick of it by the end but I was single and living on a meager income and the bag of 50lbs of potatoes was only $3

Today, I only eat potatoes once or so a week but have plenty of favourite recipes that call for them. The recipe below is one that's a real crowd pleaser so I often make them for potluck meals or for family dinners.I think it's my very favourite way to prepare a potato. It's called a Double Stuffed Potato.

The double stuffed potato can be stuffed with anything you like. It can also be called a deviled potato as well or a twice baked potato. You bake your potatoes just as you like. If you want to speed up the process you can microwave them part way but in my opinion, microwaving isn't cooking with love so I really try to avoid the nuker when cooking as much as I can.

After the potato is baked, cut in it half length wise and scoop out the insides being careful to leave the shell in tact. Whip the potatoes with your mixer after generous amounts of butter, sour cream, salt and pepper are put in the bowl and throw in some shredded cheese of your choice (old cheddar is good!) and then scoop the whipped potatoes back into the shell...top the potatoes with cooked crispy crumbled bacon and more cheese and put under the broiler for a few minutes. The tops get golden and crusty and they are delicious!Serve with sour cream on the side. WARNING:The meat and other food on your plate might be neglected.